Life in Transition

So, it's been ages since I wrote, and it feels as though a lifetime of events has happened in the past 3 months! The semester started well - year ten of university, after all! - and my plans began to come together for my move overseas to England to do research. I gave notice for my apartment on Oct. 31 for Jan. 1 and then... we went on strike. Yes, as I'm sure many of you have heard, York University Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants, Graduate Assistants, and Contract Faculty (who, all combined, do more than half of the teaching at the university!) went on strike on November 4, and the university shut down. We are still not back to work or class; I believe the official count is 44 days on strike. And that's about the time things started to go awry with my initial plans.

I've now missed two paycheques, which definitely threw a wrench in the gears of going abroad, simply in terms of being able to prepare for it financially. I started off doing two double (8 hr) shifts of picketing per week, but it took me a good two days to recover from that - I had no idea that standing outside for two very long, very cold days would be that completely exhausting, but it was. I cut down to one shift/week after that, while I completed the reading for my second comprehensive exam, but when I started writing, I had to stop picketing completely. I tend to write nocturnally, and having only two weeks to write such a large paper, I needed all the time I could get. I finished writing the first complete draft this past Monday evening (yay! my last comprehensive exam ever is finished!!!), but I now have only 10 days to pack my entire apartment before everything I own is put into storage. It's been intense, to say the least!

I have been having some fun otherwise, though. My friend Victoria (who was my co-TA this semester), and I decided to co-organise and co-host a PhD Talent Show we called "Winter Extravaganza!" It was a great success - the Concord Cafe hosted us and the place was packed, not to mention that all of the performers were top notch. I did a burlesque performance (much to the surprise and scandal of a few ;), and Vic did bellydance. Some of the other acts included blues on the harp, poetry, guitar and singing, and flamenco. Overall, it was a ton of fun, and many people suggested we should do it again next year.

So, in the next two weeks, I move and then I submit the final draft of my comprehensive exam to the rest of my committee. The exam defense is scheduled for Jan. 12 - very exciting! I have, thankfully, been offered to apartment-sit by a mutual friend during the 3 weeks I will be homeless, so that is a big relief. I'm not yet sure where I will be staying in London, but I am hoping that will come together in early January. I am also hoping that we will be back in class on Jan. 5 (I have postponed my trip until Jan. 20 so I can teach the first 3 weeks of the new year) in the event that we are back in school and I can finish up the fall semester. Seeing as York U is refusing to negotiate with our union, however, that is not looking good. This is a very frustrating situation for all of us - I just feel very, very fortunate to have additional funding outside of my TA wages, as many other students are not as blessed in that regard. I think, at this point, we all want this strike to be over so we can simply get back to class and do the teaching and research that means so much to us.